Foothill Ranch-based Kaiser Aluminum Corp. contributed 3,000 aluminum flag poles for the 10th anniversary memorial of Sept.11 in New York.
The poles went up with American flags at Battery Park in Manhattan on Sept. 8. They were expected to stay up through Sept. 12.
The project is part of the Greenwich, Conn.-based Flag of Honor/Flag of Heroes Project.
The stripes on each of the flags carry the names of all the victims who died on airplanes used during the terrorist attacks as well as victims at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
This year’s memorial, which was open to the public, marked the first time aluminum poles have been used. Similar events in prior years featured flags on poles made of polyvinyl chloride pipes.
“The fact that it is aluminum rather than PVC just makes for a much better tribute,” said Chief Financial Officer Daniel Rinkenberger.
An art installation known as the Tribute in Light also was slated to be lit during the memorial. The combination with the shiny aluminum poles is expected to give a more striking effect.
Rinkenberger said the company—which specializes in aluminum mill products and primarily serves the commercial aerospace and general engineering markets—made the flag poles specifically for the memorial.
“We are very happy to be a part of this commemoration,” Rinkenberger said. “We are honored to be asked to do this.”
Rinkenberger said the flag poles amounted to one of the larger donations that Kaiser Aluminum has ever made. He added that the company views it as a “small contribution that would be serving a greater cause.”
Kaiser is the 14th-largest public company based in Orange County. It has annual revenue of about $987 million and operates 11 production facilities in the U.S. and one in Canada.
